


Thursday

by dinosaursmate



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Louis sleeps with other guys but there's no detail, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, Smut, Zayn Malik Has Anxiety, barman Louis, just weed, not as a cute plot point it's a bit crippling, promiscuous louis, the purest zouis friendship you will ever see, weird brief Lilo stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-25 20:16:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15648171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dinosaursmate/pseuds/dinosaursmate
Summary: Harry’s long curls were tied up in a bun, which looked lovely. Harry threw Louis a smile as his sister found them a table, and almost instantly he got back up and approached the bar.“Hey.” Harry lifted his hand in a short wave. “How’s it going?”“Yeah, good. You?”“So… you busy after work?”Louis grinned. “Nope.”“You wanna do something?”“Sure,” Louis said. “I‘d love to do something.”-----Louis keeps busy juggling work, hookups, and looking after his flatmate. That is, until Harry comes along, and Louis finds himself living for Thursday.





	Thursday

**Author's Note:**

  * For [notasawrap](https://archiveofourown.org/users/notasawrap/gifts).



> Original prompt:  
> where Louis is a bartender and he likes to sleep around more than he should, but it kind of changes after Harry appears, being all long-pretty-curls and big bright smile with bright green eyes, who made him an english breakfast the day after, and Louis suddenly doesn't want to sleep with anybody else.  
> -  
> Hi notasawrap! I tried to give this a few vague twists on the plot so it probably differs a bit from what you were expecting but I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> I'll credit my darling beta when I'm revealed :))

Louis grinned at the blonde man as he handed his business card over with a wink. As soon as his back was turned, Louis rolled his eyes and looked at the card. He didn’t bother to read any of the printed information on it, instead eyeing the circle drawn around the mobile number in blue pen, along with a scribbled note saying  _ call me tonight? _

Well, Louis wasn’t a huge fan of the whole handing over a business card thing. He preferred men to ask him out, face to face. Louis wasn’t shy about being upfront, and so he liked his dates to be the same.

Still. This Patrick something had a gorgeous face and a nice arse so, needless to say, Louis would be calling him.

Patrick, along with his gaggle of city boy mates, left the bar and Louis headed over to clear their table. Someone had drawn dicks all over the reverse of their card receipt, and Louis sighed as he screwed it up. The five men had gone through three bottles of wine and four beers between them, and it was only lunchtime. Louis had a sneaky suspicion they were all headed back to work.

“Do you pull, like, once a day?”

Louis spun round to see Liam grinning at him. The wine bar had begun to serve food in the past month, and Liam was one of their new waiters. Louis knew Liam had been watching him interact with guys, so he just shrugged.

“No. Well, I  _ could,  _ but I don’t. I’d say once or twice a week?”

“Come on, it’s more often than that.”

“Guys can ask me out or give me their number, but it doesn’t mean I go out with them.”

Liam shrugged noncommittally and headed off with a bowl of pasta. Louis took the glasses from the table and headed back to the bar to throw them in the glass washer. He stopped by the bin to throw the receipt in, and he twirled Patrick’s business card between his fingers, completely undecided.

He dropped it into the bin. He didn’t fancy it, not tonight. He was finishing work in a few hours, and he would go home, take a nap, have a shower, and head out to a gay bar instead. He was in the mood to dance, and with someone who didn’t wear a suit for a living. 

-

Louis left the flat and lit a cigarette immediately. He was slapped by the chill in the air, something his long-sleeved top was doing nothing to protect him from. As he walked down the street, he looked up at the first floor window, and waved to the brunette guy looking out from it.

He rarely stayed over. He hated to be a cliche, but staying over felt weird. It implied a level of intimacy that Louis absolutely wasn’t in it for, and so he left Darren’s house and took the short walk to his own. The stars twinkled above him, and Louis thought it was rather pretty. When he lived up north, people always said you couldn’t see the stars in London, but it wasn’t true. Sure, maybe you couldn’t see as many, but it was enough to give Louis something to focus on on his walk home. 

As he turned onto his road, he could smell weed. Zayn must have been home. He put his key in the lock and called out to Zayn, and received a distant grunt in response. The house was freezing, and it was because Zayn was sitting at a dining chair across the threshold out to the balcony, smoking.

“Zayn, this doesn’t really count as going into the garden, does it? Come on. You have to go outside and shut the door behind you, man, because if Monty comes to inspect and the place smells like weed…”

“Sorry. I’m sorry. I was listening for the oven timer. Can you listen out for me?”

“Sure.” Louis glanced at the oven. “What’s cooking?”

“Pizza. Want some?”

It was gone 2am, but Louis supposed Zayn had the munchies. “No, thanks. Gonna head to bed in a few.”

“Night, bud.”

Louis took a quick shower once the pizza was done - his third of the day but he wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing he had lube in  _ places _ \- and climbed into bed. He tried to remember the last time he slept in a bed with someone.

It was a week ago, with Zayn. It didn’t really count, did it?

-

“Come on, Conor. It’s not like that.”

“You never called me, Louis.”

Louis tilted his head and smiled. “I never hid the fact I wasn’t looking for anything. Look, we had a great night. Let’s not taint the memory. Friends?”

Conor broke into a small smile, and relented. The problem with sleeping with his customers was that Louis often ended up serving them again after they had had sex. Most guys got it, the occasional one didn’t.

Fortunately, this kind of awkward confrontation was few and far between. It was soon forgotten, and, ten minutes later, Louis was leaning with an elbow on the till and his hip popped, chatting to a customer with eyes like the ocean.

“You have such an athletic build. Do you play sports?”

“I swim.”

“You swim?” Louis replied in an impressed tone. “Mm, lovely.”

The man leaned down, propping himself up with his forearms on the bar.

“What about you? Do you exercise?” The man smirked. “What’s your secret to such a fantastic bum?”

Louis shrugged. “I mean, it works out.”

He watched as the man’s eyes lit up and a grin spread across his face. His fingers twitched.

“Good to know. Good to know. So, what time do you finish?”

“Not until after closing time, I’m afraid. I’ll finish about one.”

The man pondered this, before shrugging. “Alright. I was hoping to take you out for a drink.”

“You still can. That place by the tube station stays open late.” Louis smiled sweetly.  _ “If  _ you think I’m worth hanging around for, that is.”

“You definitely are.” The man finally handed over a twenty-pound note for the drinks he had ordered. “Keep the change, love.”

The change was just under a fiver, and Louis pocketed it, pleased. 

-

The bar near the station was a bit of a dive, and Louis wasn’t keen on hanging around past one drink. He and - fuck, Louis had forgotten his name - headed outside and no sooner had they got out onto the pavement, Louis pulled the man in for a kiss. They snogged in the street, right outside the bar, before he let the man take him home. He was a really nice guy, actually, and Louis felt like he treated him well. As the guy fucked him, Louis wondered why he never felt anything for anybody, why he didn’t want to give anybody a chance. Ever.

It didn’t get him down, exactly, but sometimes he thought it might be nice to have a boyfriend. Someone who he genuinely wanted to spend time with. Someone to cuddle up to on cold nights, someone to kiss him when he needed cheering up. But then he remembered how much he liked his own company, how he hated relying on others, or answering to them.

He was fine. In fact, he was bloody damn satisfied. The man whose name had escaped Louis had finished and flipped him onto his back. Louis groaned as the man took him into his mouth and sucked until he came. As Louis dressed, he decided to take a break from sex until after the weekend. This was his third guy of the week, and Louis rather thought he would do good to make himself crave it. 

-

Louis laid on the sofa, eyes closed. He listened to Zayn, who was singing quietly whilst he painted. It was the best thing about living with Zayn, if he was honest. He had such a lovely voice and it sent Louis into a trance.

His eyes darted open. He couldn’t let himself fall asleep. 

“Lou?” Zayn said, sounding softly surprised as if Louis had popped in out of nowhere. “What day is it?”

“It’s Thursday, love.” Louis sat up and looked over the back of the sofa at Zayn. “You won’t forget your class tomorrow, will you?”

“No.” Zayn looked at him, seeming a bit embarrassed. “Will you remind me?”

“Yeah, course.”

“Thanks, Louis.”

“You’re welcome.” Louis smiled warmly as he stood up. “I’m going to work.”

Louis popped to the bathroom to do his hair quickly, and he headed off to the bus stop. Thursdays were becoming busier at work. Fridays and Saturdays were always so busy, and people were starting to filter down into Thursdays instead. Louis couldn’t be arsed. Maybe he would be better off with a desk job, one where he left at five every day and spent the evening in front of the TV, watching as Zayn did something like stare at a photo of a tiger for an hour, or concentrated on a cross stitch pattern. You never knew with Zayn.

Louis wouldn’t change him for the world. And he wouldn’t want to do a desk job, anyway. He loved the bustle of the wine bar, as much as he liked to complain. 

The bar wasn’t busy yet. It was nearly five, and all the city boys would start to filter in over the next couple of hours. Liam was serving the few people who had come for an early dinner, including a couple who were sitting at one of the tables directly in front of the bar. They were talking, and they looked sad. The guy did, anyway.

The woman had her hand on top of his and seemed to be telling him something serious. She didn’t look angry. Louis wished he could hear what they were saying. He was a massive eavesdropper, he had to admit.

“Liam!” Louis whispered. Liam walked over. “What are those two talking about?”

Liam smirked at him. “You’re so nosy. I dunno. I think the guy’s gone through a break up and she’s telling him it’s gonna be okay. Something along those lines, I think.”

“Oh, they’re not a couple?”

“No, no.”

Louis looked at them again. The guy was ridiculously cute. He had dark curls that fell past his shoulders and the saddest, loveliest pout. He sighed and looked away from the woman. He turned his head and glanced at Louis with shimmering, green eyes. 

It would, of course, be completely inappropriate to come on to the guy, so Louis resolved to resist. He continued to watch them, though, and barged Liam out of the way to collect their glasses.

“I don’t know how to just continue as normal, Gem.” The man glanced up at Louis. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Thanks,” the woman murmured, never taking her eyes off the man. “Take it one day at a time, that’s all you can do. Don’t let him turn your world upside down.”

Louis walked away.  _ So,  _ the man had just split up with another man.  _ Very interesting. _

“Lou?”

“Hm?” Louis glanced at Liam as he wiped lipstick from the woman’s wine glass.

“We’re both on the lunchtime shift tomorrow, do you want to maybe go for something to eat afterwards?”

“Um, tomorrow?” Louis shrugged. “Yeah, sure.”

“Cool.”

“Have they paid their bill yet?”

“Huh? Oh, those two? No. I’m just heading over with it.”

Louis watched Liam take them the bill, take payment and return to the till. They gathered their things and walked out, just as Liam sidled up to him.

“They’re brother and sister,” he told him.

-

Liam really wanted to go to Pizza Express, so Louis agreed. He dipped a dough ball into the garlic butter as he texted Zayn to make sure he went to his class. 

“So you never used to serve food at work?” Liam asked. 

“Oh, we used to serve pretentious snacks, but ultimately the decision was made because those arses who come in from the city would have a small portion of olives for dinner and then drink wine for six hours. At least now they eat some bloody carbs to absorb it all. People would always ask us if we served food, so it made sense, really.”

Louis read a reply from Zayn that said he made it to class, and so he put his phone down and paid attention to Liam. He was certainly easy on the eyes, and he had proved to be a pleasant and hardworking colleague. Louis was enjoying working with him. 

“I’m not sure wine bars usually double as restaurants. Not sure.” Liam pouted as he took a swig of beer. “I’ve been craving pizza all week.”

“Ah, so that’s why you’ve dragged me here.”

Liam stayed silent for a few seconds. Louis looked up at him just as Liam shrugged.

“Just thought it would be nice.”

“Yeah,” Louis said placatingly. “It is nice.”

Their mains came and they drifted between easy chat and comfortable silence while they ate. Liam told Louis that he came to London for a change of scenery, and that he tried to go back home for a visit at least once a month.

“I don’t get home nearly as much as I should,” Louis said regretfully. “It breaks my mother’s heart.”

“My mum actually told me last time I went home that I don’t need to visit as much.”

“Haha!” Louis grinned. “Aw, she probably thinks you feel obligated.”

“I just get really homesick, you know?”

Louis knew what he meant. He had five sisters and a brother, so inevitably he missed birthdays and such. Being the oldest kid sucked sometimes. He had grown up and moved out, and his family continued without him. 

They ate dessert, and then Liam insisted on paying. They walked to the tube together, and parted ways onto different lines.

“Um…” Liam lifted his hand in a vague wave. “See you tomorrow?”

“See ya.” Louis nodded and turned to leave. “Get home safe.”

Once Louis sat down on the tube, he felt all his energy zap. Maybe an early night was on the cards. Zayn would probably be passed out on the sofa, or maybe he was out. He did go out on the rare occasion. Louis would, of course, stay up if Zayn needed the company.

But when Louis got home, Zayn was nowhere to be seen. There was a faint weed smell in the living room, and Louis could hear the soft rumbling of Zayn’s snores coming from his bedroom. Louis went straight to bed.

-

Friday and Saturday were busy busy busy. Louis was on the lunchtime shift on Sunday, which was far more chilled. The sun was shining and Louis found himself with time to stand behind the bar and stare out to the street. Louis had two scheduled days off per week, but he often did overtime on at least one of the days. When he did have a day off, he had to do things like pay bills and do laundry. He couldn’t remember the last time he had just… done nothing.

“Hiya.”

Louis turned to the customer with a polite smile. It was some guy he had gone out on a date with a few weeks ago, but didn’t sleep with. The man was looking at him with a slight smirk.

“Oh, hi. How are you?”

“I’m good.” The man leaned on the bar. “You never texted me back. I was hoping to see you again.”

“I was literally just standing here thinking about how busy I’ve been. Honestly! But I’ll probably have some time next week. How’s that for you?”

“Hm, yeah. Okay.” The man rolled his eyes with a grin. “I regret making you wait, now.”

Louis couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, well. I hope you’ve learned your lesson.”

The guy’s name was Tim, or Tom, or John, something like that. Louis would go through his text messages later to find out. As he walked off, Louis watched him and thought about their date. They had been for dinner, and had a rather heated snog at the bus stop. Louis had suggested coming home with him, but the guy said  _ maybe next time.  _ Louis was impatient, and wasn’t used to being made to wait.

“Who’s that?” Liam asked, coming out of the back, drying his hands on a teatowel. 

“Some guy I went out with. Once. They always find me.”

“Do you only go out with guys you meet at work?”

“No!” Louis laughed and rolled his eyes. “Look, gimme a break. I’m young.”

Liam looked him up and down and smiled. “Ah, I’m not judging you.”

“Good.” Louis snatched the tea towel from Liam’s hands and threw it at his face. “I enjoy myself and I don’t hurt anyone.”

“Do you ever date? Like… date without it being a means to an end, if you know what I mean.”

“Not really. I don’t have time. Besides, I just don’t meet anyone here that I see myself wanting to spend time with. They’re all toffs and suits.”

Liam shrugged and disappeared into the kitchen.

-

Louis agreed to go for a drink with Liam after work on Tuesday. Louis insisted they head to a real pub, and not some other bar. He much preferred the atmosphere. 

Louis frowned at his phone. He had seen Tim last night and he wouldn’t stop texting. On top of that, Zayn was texting him, too, detailing his experience in working out why his Red Bull had frozen at the back of the fridge. 

Placing his phone face down on the table, Louis resolved to pay attention to Liam.

“But that all changed when my sister got married, anyway.”

Louis cleared his throat. “Oh, you have a sister? Older or younger?”

“Older. I have two older sisters, actually.”

“Oh, nice. I’m the oldest of seven.”

“Crazy! That’s a lot of responsibility.”

Louis smiled, shrugging as he picked up his phone. He couldn’t resist.

_ ‘Update: I might have broken the fridge’ _

Louis rolled his eyes as Liam silently watched him tap out a reply to Zayn.

_ ‘For God’s sake! I’ll be home in a bit. Try not to break anything else.’ _

“My flatmate absolutely cannot be left in the house on his own,” Louis said with a sigh. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Something to do with the fridge. I don’t know.”

“Oh, do you need to, like…”

“He’ll be fine. I just hope he doesn’t get in the fridge, or something.”

“Good. I was wondering if you wanted to come back to mine after this drink. I’ve got some cans, so…”

“You know what, let’s compromise. Let’s get out of here, but can we go to mine? If I’m gonna get pissed, I’d rather be at home. Zayn will be feeling anxious if he’s broken the fridge, so I don’t really wanna, like, not come home.”

“Absolutely. That’s fine.”

“Cool. And if you’re too pissed to make it home, you can stay over.”

-

Zayn looked mildly alarmed to see Louis bring someone home. It wasn’t a common occurrence.

“Um. Lou.”

“Alright, so what happened, mate?”

“I don’t know!”

Louis opened the fridge. It was a bit cold, but not cold enough. He tried to work out what Zayn might have done. He spotted the temperature knob and sighed.

“Zayn? Come over here.”

Zayn approached and crouched down next to Louis.

“I guess you worked out that the fridge was too cold and you turned the temperature knob?”

“Yeah.”

“You just turned it too far down, bud. It needs to stay on level four, okay? You turned it down to two, and that’s not cold enough.”

“Shit. I’m sorry, Lou. I can’t believe I didn’t work that out. I’m so dumb.”

“Oh, come on. You’re not dumb.” Louis stood up and held out a hand to help Zayn back up. “Just a bit forgetful.”

Zayn grinned nervously. “Okay, sorry.”

“Zayn, this is Liam. He’s a waiter at the bar.”

Liam tentatively stepped forward and held out his hand, which Zayn shook.

“Hiya, mate.”

“Hi.” Zayn smiled politely before looking at Louis. “Um, I’m gonna go to my room. Sorry again.”

“It’s no problem, mate.”

Louis watched Zayn disappear into his bedroom before taking a deep breath and opening the fridge again.

“He seems like quite a nervous person.”

Louis sighed, pulling a couple of bottles of lager from the fridge.

“He is. Well, no. Anxious, rather than nervous. And I think he thinks smoking weed helps him, but I think it makes him worse. More anxious, and forgetful. He’s quite the introvert, you know. He likes to sit around here painting, which is cool. But I don’t know what’s best for him really.”

“Hm.” Liam nodded as Louis handed him a bottle of Stella. “You seem like a good friend to him, and I think that’s all you can do. Just be there for him if he needs you.”

“I suppose.” 

Louis walked them into the living room, and Liam lingered next to the sofa.

“Um… do you have a bottle opener?”

Louis looked at both of their bottles and shook his head. “Now who’s bloody forgetful?”

“Maybe _you_ ought to lay off the weed.”

“Shut up!” Louis laughed.

-

Liam ended up sleeping on the sofa, and late Wednesday morning he headed off to work. It was Louis’ day off, and he planned to spend the majority of the day inside. 

He found Zayn in the kitchen, frowning into his laptop.

“Hi, mate. What you up to?”

“Applying for a job.”

Louis raised his eyebrows. “Oh.”

Zayn was taking a part time art class, and his parents paid his rent and bills. He always said he didn’t feel up to getting a job and, as far as Louis was concerned, if Zayn’s parents were alright with it, then so was he. 

“What kind of thing are you looking for?”

“Office job.”

Louis chewed his bottom lip. “Okay. What about your class?”

“This job I’m applying for is part time.” 

“Well, good luck, man.”

Zayn seemed focused, anyway, which could only have been a good thing. Louis did some laundry before retiring to the sofa for a day of Netflix. Zayn went out somewhere and Louis found himself drifting in and out of sleep.

It was the perfect day off.

On Thursday, he was back working the lunchtime shift alongside Liam. He was pleasantly surprised to see the brother and sister from last Thursday were back.

The guy looked a little less sad today, which pleased Louis. As Louis observed him, he felt Liam looking at him.

“He had the ratatouille, if you want to know.”

Louis grinned guiltily. “I don’t need to know what he’s eating, but thanks.”

Liam just shrugged and walked away. Louis looked back at the man, just as he turned his head and looked over. Louis darted his eyes away, but not for long as the man approached the bar.

“Hello,” Louis said casually. “What can I get you?”

“Hi. Um, a small house red and a tap water, please.”

Louis tried to bury his embarrassment of getting caught staring as he poured the glass of wine. The man leaned on the bar and leisurely tapped the edge of his card against the surface.

“Would you like some ice in your water?”

“Oh, yes, please.”

Louis wanted to say something to him. Louis was used to chatting to guys, but this man had the upper hand. He had caught Louis staring at him, and that threw Louis’ game off completely. Taking a deep breath, Louis placed the glass of tap water next to the glass of wine and smiled.

“It’s £5.80, please.” Louis nodded at the card machine, and the man tapped his debit card onto the reader. “Hey, were you here a week ago?”

“Oh, um. Yeah. Me and my sister meet up every Thursday and we wanted to try a new place, so…”

Louis popped his hip. “And you came back, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s nice here. I mean, it’s a bit expensive, but…”

Louis smirked and shrugged. “I suppose. You have the very best barmen though. Value for money.”

The man laughed. “We’ll see. Cheers.”

He took the drinks and disappeared back to the table with his sister. Well, it could have been worse. 

“Hey,” Liam said as he approached Louis. “Johnny just told me to tell someone we’re nearly out of asparagus. Who do I tell?”

“Monty will be in soon. But we’ll have a delivery tomorrow.”

“Cool.” Liam glanced over at the brother and sister’s table before looking at Louis again. “Hey, how’s Zayn?”

“Yeah, he’s good.”

“Oh, I’m glad. So, you wanna come to mine tonight? I’ll cook for us.”

Louis wasn’t sure if Liam was just trying a bit hard, or what. He hadn’t been in London long, so maybe he was just trying to make friends. Louis enjoyed his company, but he didn’t want Liam to think he needed to be so extra.

“Liam, that’s so sweet. But I promised I’d Facetime my younger siblings tonight. We could go for a quick bite after our shift, though. If you want.”

“Sure, yeah.”

After work, they took a quick trip to Nando’s for a bit of chicken, and it was a pleasant evening so they walked for a bit to where Louis could catch a direct bus home. 

“You don’t need to wait with me, Li.”

“Oh, don’t be silly.” Liam looked up at the electronic display. “It’s due in one minute, anyway.”

“Ace. Well, that was nice, but brief. I’ll come round yours at some point, I promise. And you should come round mine again to hang out. Zayn’s not that comfortable around new people and, since you’re no longer new, he’d probably like you coming round.”

“Sure.”

Liam took a step forward and Louis sharply inhaled as a lot of stuff clicked in his brain, all at once. He took a step backwards. Liam hadn’t been trying too hard to make friends, after all. He had been trying to date Louis. Oh, God. 

“Sorry, sorry,” Liam said, taking a step back.

“No, I’m sorry.” Louis rubbed his forehead. How could he not have seen this? Anyway, Liam knew exactly how Louis conducted his romantic life. This didn’t make much sense. “I didn’t realise…”

“Lou, please. I’m so embarrassed.”

“Oh, look. Don’t be.”

“Sorry. Look, your bus is here. See you tomorrow.”

Liam turned and walked away quickly. Louis didn’t have much choice but to just get on the bus. He sat at the back and thought about what had just happened. Louis just didn’t really date, and Liam knew that, but Liam’s behaviour didn’t really seem like he was after a one night stand, nor did he seem particularly infatuated.

Liam was a lovely guy. Good looking. But Louis had never looked at him that way. He would never. Sleeping with colleagues just wasn’t a good idea. 

_ ‘Li, I hope I didn’t make you feel like shit’ _

_ ‘I’m sorry if I did. Can we just be friends? I really want you as a friend’ _

Louis chewed his bottom lip. Had Liam thought they were dating? And he had watched Louis flirting with guys and lust after that curly haired bloke. God, Louis felt like a piece of shit. His phone buzzed and he groaned as he pulled it from his pocket.

_ ‘Nah man, please don’t feel bad. I’m a mess, it’s all on me. Friends it is x’ _

Louis sighed heavily. He was too tired to deal with this.

-

Work was a bit awkward, and they didn’t have any time to talk it through. The whole thing became even more awkward on Sunday, when the curly-haired guy came in, alone, to have a drink.

“Hi.”

“Hello.” The man leaned on the bar and picked up a wine menu. “How’s it going?”

“Good.” Louis glanced over at Liam, who was standing by a table, waiting for a card transaction to process. He was looking at Louis, and he smiled. Louis turned back to the man. “You won’t find the tap water on the wine menu.”

“Haha! Well, I might treat myself to alcohol today.”

Liam returned to the till to put the transaction through, before tilting his head to Louis to gesture him over.

“You have a look,” Louis told the man. “I’ll be back in just one sec.”

He walked over to Liam, who rolled his eyes. 

“Louis, please don’t worry about me. Don’t change your behaviour on my account.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do your thing. Chat him up. Seriously. Don’t let me stop you.”

Louis didn’t know what to say, and so stayed silent as Liam gently pushed him back towards the man. 

“Um, made a decision?” Louis asked, sparing one last glance at Liam. 

“Yep.” He put the wine menu down. “Tap water, please.”

Louis surprised himself with a loud cackle.

“Joking,” the man said, beaming. “Just give me a glass of something really crisp and refreshing.”

Louis was tempted to make him a joke drink, like empty a bag of crisps into a glass with a wedge of lemon, but he thought better of it. He poured Harry a fairly inexpensive glass of rosé and refused to take payment for it.

“Sure?” the man asked with a grin. “You won’t get in trouble?”

“I actually own the place.”

“Oh!” The man’s eyes widened and he tried to suppress a smile. “Forget what I said about the prices, then.”

Louis laughed and held a hand up. “Nah, I’m just joking. I’m just a barman. I hope a free drink makes up for the extortionate prices. Especially since I’m putting my job on the line.”

The man grinned. “Well, thanks for that. I’m Harry, by the way.”

“Louis.” Louis held his hand out, and Harry shook it. “Don’t think that just because I gave you a free drink that you have to drink it at the bar.”

“I wasn’t going to. My friends are at the back, so…”

“Fine! Fine. Well, maybe next time you can buy me a drink.”

Harry picked up his glass and started to walk backwards, shrugging.

“Maybe.”

Louis didn’t see Harry again after that. Once his shift finished, he caught Liam for a quick chat to clear the air. He couldn’t bear the thought of another awkward shift.

“Do we really have to talk about it?” Liam whined. “Can’t we forget about it?”

“We can forget about it after we talk it out.”

“I made a mistake, that’s all.”

Louis leaned against the wall of the back alley and watched Liam take a drag of his cigarette.

“I don’t get it, Li. You know what I’m like. I sleep with guys and don’t call them back. I just don’t understand why you’d bother.”

Liam shrugged and shook his head. “I know. I honestly don’t know what I was thinking. I wasn’t just after one thing, or anything like that.”

“Ah, I know.” Louis draped his arm around Liam’s neck. “Look. Download Grindr, find someone, or people, to shag, and we can stay friends. Sound good?”

“Yeah.” Liam smiled at the ground. “Now, can we  _ please _ never talk about this again?”

“Not a problem. I can’t promise I won’t bring it up when I’m drunk, though.”

“Louis!”

“But I’ll try not to!”

-

Louis found himself looking forward to Thursday.

Harry and his sister turned up for a late lunch, and Louis felt as though Harry kept smirking at him. Maybe he was being paranoid. He probably wasn’t, he thought, as Harry left his sister taking a phone call to approach the bar. 

“Hiya, Louis.”

“Harry, hi. You know, you don’t need to come up to the bar for a drink, you can order that through your waiter.”

“I was just coming to say hello!” Harry rolled his eyes with a grin. “And now, I’m going for a wee.”

“Enjoy yourself.”

Harry rolled his eyes again, before walking off. Louis watched him with a quiet groan. Harry had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and even the way he walked was sexy. Louis reckoned he had a good chance. Harry seemed interested, right? He was different to the kind of guys they normally got in there, and God knew Louis needed a change. 

When Harry came back from the toilet, he just gave Louis a cock of the eyebrow before returning to his sister. Louis sighed and tried to distract himself by cleaning behind the bar. When a customer approached, he looked up and was utterly surprised to see Zayn standing there.

“Hiya, mate! You, um, after a drink, or…”

“I was picking up some art supplies in town and thought I’d pop in and say hi.”

“Have you eaten? You want something to eat?”

“Um…” Zayn looked around.

“You can eat in the back.”

“Okay, thanks,” Zayn said with a grin. 

“Grab Liam when he comes back in and let him know what you want. Is that okay?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Lou.”

Louis grabbed Liam on his way back and told him to give Zayn whatever he wanted, no charge. Louis would ring it through the till later with his staff discount. He could give the odd thing away for free but, after giving Harry a free glass of wine on Sunday, he probably couldn’t get away with giving away a meal, too.

Not too long later, Harry and his sister paid their bill and got up to leave. Harry came over to the bar while his sister went to the toilet.

“You working on Monday?”

Louis hid a smile. “Um… yeah. Late shift. Five ‘til one.”

“I see.” Harry licked his lips and shrugged nonchalantly. “Well, maybe I’ll pop in and buy you that drink.”

“Cool. Well, maybe I won’t take my break in anticipation of you coming, and then you don’t turn up and I collapse at midnight.”

Harry rolled his eyes with a grin. “Alright, I promise I’ll turn up, and at a break-appropriate time.”

Louis nodded. Harry’s sister came up from the toilets and looked between them.

“Ready, Haz?”

“Yep.” He raised his palm to Louis. “Bye.”

-

Louis would never say anything, but he still felt a bit weird about Liam, and the thought of having a drink with Harry under Liam’s nose just seemed wrong. Louis was relieved to get in on Monday and realise it was Liam’s day off.

Harry arrived during an unusually busy seven o’clock rush. He stood at the end of the bar patiently while Louis and his colleague, Jeremy, worked their way through the crowd which slowly dissipated. It was closer to eight when Louis was finally able to take his break.

“I’m so sorry,” he said sheepishly to Harry. “Thanks for waiting.”

“Of course.” Harry smiled. “So, um… do you want a drink?”

“Just a lime and soda, please. Shall I find us a table?”

“Just a lime and soda?” Harry asked with a frown.

“I can’t drink, can I, lad?” Louis smirked. “Order us some chips, if you want.”

“Alright.”

Louis got them a table, as tucked away in a corner as he could. He didn’t want Jeremy or any of his other colleagues being able to see them if he could help it. 

“The barman insisted on putting a straw in yours.” Harry smiled warmly and placed Louis’ drink down in front of him. “Apparently you need a straw.”

“Ah. True, true. Thank you.” Louis leaned down and put his straw straight into his mouth, maintaining eye contact with Harry. It was one of his  _ moves.  _ “Hope this table’s okay.”

“Yeah.”

Harry put his own drink down, his receipt, and pulled his phone from his pocket and placed it on the table. He looked up and grinned at Louis.

“So, how long have you worked here?”

“Coming up to a year. What do you do?”

Harry pouted. It was insanely cute. “I go to uni in north London, but my sister works around here.”

“Oh? Is she a banker?” Louis asked with a grin.

“No. She’s a solicitor.”

“Oh, nice!”

They continued to chat, superficial exchanges about their lives. Harry was cute, so so cute, and so Louis pulled out his best moves. Harry seemed particularly distracted by Louis’ fingers dragging up and down his glass through the condensation and, when Louis popped to the loo, he gently brushed his fingers against Harry’s arm as he walked by, dampening his skin with the condensation.

When he returned to the table, Harry was looking at him with an interesting intensity. He smiled inwardly. 

“You coming with your sister on Thursday?”

“Yeah, we’ll be here. I think around four. Are you working?”

“Yeah, I’m finishing at five.”

Harry nodded, trying not to smile. “Alright, good.” 

“Um…” Louis looked at the time on his phone. “I’d better get back. This was nice.”

“It was.” Harry stood up. “I guess I’ll see you Thursday.”

“Yeah.” Louis stepped forward into Harry’s space and brushed his fingers over his arm again. “I’ll look forward to it.”

“Me, too.”

Louis leaned up and kissed Harry on the cheek, before sauntering off back to the bar. He had a good feeling that Harry was watching him walk away.

-

Thursday was passing agonisingly slow. Louis was tired. Liam had been round on Wednesday and they stayed up late drinking. Liam had stayed over, but was on the late shift. Louis was absolutely shattered.

He perked up when Harry walked in with his sister. Harry’s long curls were tied up in a bun, which looked lovely. Harry threw Louis a smile as his sister found them a table, and almost instantly he got back up and approached the bar.

“Hey.” Harry lifted his hand in a short wave. “How’s it going?”

“Yeah, good. You?”

“So… you busy after work?”

Louis grinned. “Nope.”

“You wanna do something?”

“Sure,” Louis said. “I‘d love to do something.”

The way Harry smirked in response nearly made Louis’ dick twitch. Harry walked away, back to his sister, and Liam chose that exact moment to turn up for work.

“Hi, Lou. Good day?”

“I’m knackered. And it’s all your fault.”

Liam shrugged. “Not sorry.”

“What have you done today? Did you go home?”

“Nah. Just stayed at yours. Hung out with Zayn a bit.”

Louis raised his eyebrows. “You hung out with Zayn?”

“Yeah. I watched TV, and he painted. We ate lunch together.”

Louis felt pleased. Zayn needed more friends and, better yet, Liam was Louis’ friend, too. 

“Well, thanks for being a friend for him.” 

Liam let out a little laugh as he tied his apron around his waist. “You don’t need to thank me. I wanted to hang out with him. He’s such an interesting person, you know? I love hearing him talk. His mind works in such a fascinating way.”

“True.”

Louis tried to get back to work and not think about Harry, which was hard when he knew he would be able to see Harry if he moved to one end of the bar. He occupied himself until the end of his shift, and then he went in the back to fix his hair and get ready for  _ doing something _ with Harry. 

If Harry’s idea of  _ doing something _ was another date, Louis was going to have to be upfront about his lack of desire for a relationship. He would regret having to turn Harry down. 

Louis came out of the back and leaned on the bar with his bum sticking out. He could see Harry and his sister from there, could see them paying their bill before gathering their things and standing up. The sister - as usual - went for a wee, and Harry approached Louis.

“This is gonna sound weird, but I’m gonna walk Gemma out and then come back for you.”

Louis smirked indignantly. “Ashamed of me, are you?”

“Of course not. But I can’t be bothered with a lecture.” Harry shrugged with a grin. “Going for a wee.”

Harry disappeared down the stairs, and his sister - Gemma - emerged a few seconds later. To Louis’ surprise, she walked over to him and folded her arms.

“Um.” Louis looked around, feeling slightly awkward. “Harry’s gone for a wee.”

“Look,” Gemma started. “I’m sure you’re a nice guy, but Harry’s hurting. He’s recently got out of a relationship and he doesn’t need someone coming along and toying with his emotions, okay?”

“Oh. Um…”

“I’m not sure he knows what’s best for himself right now.”

Louis didn’t really know what to say, and he had never been so relieved to see Harry approach. Harry looked between them suspiciously.

“Ready, Gems?”

“Yup.”

Harry and Gemma both glanced at Louis before they walked out of the bar. Louis let out a breath and put his hands on his hips. Maybe Gemma was just a meddling, overprotective sister, but Louis knew he had to make his intentions clear to Harry. Harry returned a few minutes later, grinning sheepishly.

“Hi. Sorry.” Harry sighed. “Ready?”

“Yeah.” Louis picked his phone up from the bar and pocketed it. “You know… your sister spoke to me.”

“No!” Harry gasped, before groaning. “What did she say?”

Louis let out a small laugh as Harry opened the door and stepped aside to let him through. “Well, I think she was trying to warn me off you.”

“For God’s sake. Go on, then. Tell me what she said.”

“Um, she said you just got out of a relationship and don’t need someone toying with your emotions. And that she isn’t sure you know what’s good for you.”

“I’m gonna kill her.”

“Aw.” Louis grinned. “She just cares about you.”

Harry scoffed. They were walking aimlessly down the road, and Louis steered them towards an empty bus stop and sat on the bench. Harry sat next to him.

“So…” Louis chewed his bottom lip. “In light of this, I thought I should just let you know I’m not really looking for a relationship, you know? Nothing serious.”

“Well, neither am I,” Harry said. “Gem’s right, I just got out of a relationship. It was rough at first, but I think I’m ready to start seeing people again, casually.”

“Great. Okay, so we’re at the same place.”

“Sounds like it.”

Louis smiled. “So, what do you wanna do?”

“Why don’t you come back to mine?” Harry asked. “I’ll make you something to eat, we can watch a film, whatever.”

-

Harry lived in a student house with four other people, so he took Louis straight to his room. It was clean, although Harry’s desk was littered with books and notebooks and his bed was unmade. He hurriedly shook the duvet out and smiled pathetically.

“Sorry. Um… Why don’t you sit down? I’ll go make you something to eat. What do you fancy? I don’t have much in, but…”

“You got cheese? Cheese on toast would be perfect.” 

“Yes! Yes. I can do that. Feel free to look through Netflix, or my DVDs, and pick a film. I won’t be long.”

Harry left the room and Louis sat on the edge of the small double bed. Hung along the wall opposite were framed photos: photos of Harry with Gemma, photos of Harry with who Louis assumed were Harry’s parents, photos of Harry with dogs and cats. The room felt as sweet and warm as Harry did, and Louis kicked his shoes off and laid down on the bed. He was so relieved he and Harry had sorted out their little situation, and he was kind of hoping to get laid tonight.

“Cheese on toast is served!” Harry said triumphantly as he walked back into the room, carrying a plate. “Bon appetit.”

Louis sat up and took the plate. “Thanks! God, it smells great.”

Harry hovered awkwardly, before rounding the bed and sitting on the other side. He looked at the TV, which was switched off, and cocked an eyebrow.

“You didn’t look for films?” Harry smirked. “What were you doing?”

“Unwinding after a hard day at work!”

“Alright.” Harry turned the TV on and opened the Netflix app. “What kind of film are you interested in?”

“Oh, I’ll watch anything, me.”

“Mm. Well, there’s a few on my list I’ve been meaning to watch for a while… so we won’t watch those. Just in case we get distracted.”

Louis laughed and nearly choked on his cheese on toast. He swallowed his mouthful before speaking.

“I definitely plan on distracting you.”

Harry put on a random horror film - a classic pulling move if Louis had ever seen one - and slumped down next to Louis. He pushed one hand into his curls and his other hand rested on his belt buckle which, for some reason, was turning Louis on. Once Louis had finished his food, he put the plate on the floor at Harry’s instruction and pulled a pack of chewing gum from his pocket.

“Ooh, can I have one?” Harry asked.

The two of them chewed away, watching the film. The people on screen were lost in the woods and Louis resisted the urge to roll his eyes, especially when he became distracted by Harry resting his head on his shoulder.

Louis turned his head and inhaled as discreetly as he could. Harry’s hair smelt vaguely coconutty, and Louis found himself burying his nose amongst the curls and closing his eyes. 

“Mm,” Louis hummed quietly, before kissing Harry’s hair.

Harry turned his head slowly and looked up at Louis. Louis slumped down slightly to come face to face with Harry before kissing him, slow and gentle. He pulled away to look at Harry, whose cheeks were flushed pink.

“Okay, um.” Harry shook his head with a grin. “Cool, so…”

“Words are your friend, Harry,” Louis teased quietly. “Where can I spit my chewing gum out?”

“Tissues on the desk, bin underneath.”

Louis stood up and dropped his gum into a tissue. He took Harry one, too, making him spit his gum out. He disposed of them and returned to Harry’s side.

“You sure this is something you want?”

“Absolutely,” Harry replied, looking at Louis’ mouth. “A lot.”

Louis kissed him again, this time with more fervour, and Harry responded in kind. They moved close to one another, pressing their bodies together and Louis felt Harry’s hand slip under his t-shirt. 

“What do you wanna do, Harry?”

“Wanna kiss every bit of you.” Harry moved his mouth to Louis’ neck. “Get my hands on you.”

Harry pulled Louis’ t-shirt up over his head and followed it with his own. He slipped his hands into Louis’, pinned them against the bed and straddled him.

“And I’d love to ride you.”

Louis groaned and found himself arching up into Harry. His dick was bulging in his jeans, and Louis wanted to get his hands on it so badly. His hands were still pinned down by Harry’s.

“Let me touch you, Harry.”

Harry released Louis’ hands and immediately leaned down to kiss him. His curls tickled Louis’ face, making him smile as Harry’s lips came into contact with his. He had no option but to settle on running his hands over Harry’s broad, smooth back, dragging them down until Harry’s jeans stopped him from going any further.

Harry got the hint. He pulled away and stood to his feet, grinning stupidly as he fiddled with his button. Louis sat up to watch as Harry unbuttoned and unzipped his fly, pulling his jeans down and hurriedly yanking them off over his feet.

He was wearing a small pair of grey pants that didn’t really leave much to the imagination. Louis grinned, watching Harry closely as he approached the end of the bed.

“Your turn.”

Louis stayed silent, watching as Harry undid his fly for him and pulled at the cuffs of his jeans. Louis just giggled, trying his best to wriggle in a way that was helpful. Harry finally got Louis’ jeans off and crawled back on top of him.

“You’re gorgeous, Lou.” Harry kissed him, and crawled down his body, kissing over his skin until he reached his lower stomach. “Can I…?”

“Please.”

Louis stifled a gasp as Harry tugged his boxers down and wrapped a hand around his shaft. Louis hadn’t had sex in a few weeks, which was a while for him, if he was honest. He had itched to have another man’s hands on his body, and God knew he had been lusting after Harry. 

It all became a bit of a jumbled blur after that. They were both naked and Louis found himself opening Harry up, one finger quickly becoming two, then three. Louis rolled a condom on and Harry sunk down on his cock slowly, making a scene about the stretch.

“Oh, fuck,” he muttered. “So big, baby.”

Louis was desperate for Harry to start moving, to be able to move himself, but he also very much enjoyed just looking at him. His cock was standing away from his body conspicuously, and his fingers were digging into Louis’ chest. He looked beautiful, with his head thrown back and his eyes closed. Louis really, really wanted to fucking move.

Harry finally bottomed out and began to move. Louis bent his legs and met Harry’s movements, thrusting up into him as he dug his fingers into Harry’s thighs. The hot, tight feeling made Louis feel like he could scream with how delicious and satisfying it was and, when Harry pulled off and turned around, sinking back down with his back to Louis, Louis knew he wasn’t going to last long. Harry leaned forward and Louis watched in desperation as Harry’s arse moved up and down his cock, sweat starting to glisten on his back.

“I’m close, baby,” Louis choked out. 

Harry looked over his shoulder. He had sweat-damp curls stuck to his cheeks, his mouth open as he panted. He sped up his movements, bouncing on Louis’ cock until Louis grabbed hold of his hips, thrusting up as best he could before coming. Louis cried out, swearing as he pulsed into the condom. Harry made a grunting noise before laying back against Louis’ chest. It was a weird position - his weight was crushing Louis somewhat - but Louis kind of liked it. Louis hooked his chin over Harry’s shoulder, watching himself grab hold of Harry’s cock and tug it just a few times before he came, spurting onto his own stomach.

“Wow,” Louis cooed into Harry’s ear. “That looked fucking amazing.”

“Oh.” Harry sighed loudly. “I am spent.”

“Do you wanna get off me, though, love?” Louis let out a breathless chuckle. “You’re squashing my vital organs.”

“Sorry!” 

Harry tried to get off of Louis without squashing him further, and Louis reached between them to try and hold the condom in place. After they both managed to awkwardly complete their tasks, Harry went to clean himself up and Louis removed the condom, tying it in a knot and dropping it into Harry’s bin.

He returned to the bed, laying on top of it and looking at the TV, vaguely watching the film, which was still playing. Harry returned, rubbing his now-clean stomach and yawning.

“You went to the bathroom naked?”

Harry shrugged. “Believe me, my housemates are used to it.”

Harry jumped onto the bed, making Louis giggle as he cuddled up to him.

“You wanna stay?”

“I should get home,” Louis replied. He yawned. “Maybe in a bit.”

-

Louis woke up with a neck ache and he was too hot. His face was smushed into a pillow and he lifted his head and cracked one eye open.

Fuck.

He was still at Harry’s. He must have fallen asleep. 

Louis sat up and groaned to himself. His phone was sitting on charge on the bedside table, and he picked it up. No texts from Zayn. He definitely told Zayn he was going out, but he usually came home. He should probably just check on him. Just in case. 

The phone rang three times before Zayn answered.

_ “‘Ello?” _

“Hi, Zayn. It’s Louis.”

_ “Hi, mate. You okay?” _

“Yeah, um… I fell asleep at Harry’s after our date. Just checking everything’s alright with you.”

_ “Yeah, man. All good. Thanks.” _

“Great. I might see you tonight.”

_ “Later.” _

Zayn hung up, and Louis suddenly wondered where Harry was. He sleepily looked around the floor, located his clothes, and pulled them on. Maybe he should look for Harry.

As soon as he opened the door, his mouth immediately watered. He could smell bacon. He followed the smell down the stairs and into the kitchen, and saw Harry stood at the hob in boxers and a t-shirt.

“Hey.”

“Morning!” Harry turned to grin at him. “God, I hope you’re not vegetarian.”

“Absolutely not. This smells amazing.”

“Well, I’ve got sausages and bacon on the go, eggs next, and I can do some fried bread and some beans. I don’t have any black pudding I’m afraid.”

“Good. I’m not a fan.”

“Why don’t you sit down?” Harry turned his attention back to the breakfast. “Sleep well?”

“Uh, I don’t think so,” Louis replied as he sat down at the table. “I have a sore neck. I really didn’t mean to stay over. Sorry.”

“It’s alright. I’m sorry I didn’t wake you.”

“Well, you’re certainly making up for it.”

Harry hummed, and Louis smiled at the back of his head. He looked ridiculously cute. His curls were mussed and tangled from sleep, and his t-shirt was old and covered in little holes. His boxers were certainly less revealing than the pants he had been wearing yesterday. Louis felt a strange touch of fondness for him. It was incredibly sweet of him to make Louis breakfast, and Louis found himself hoping that Harry had meant what he had said about only wanting something casual.

Louis scolded himself. Maybe Harry was just a nice guy. And maybe - just maybe - Harry was a good candidate for round two. Louis rarely slept with guys for a second time, but…

“Have you ever had fried wholemeal bread?” Harry asked. “I’m wondering if it would work.”

“Don’t mess with perfection, lad,” Louis advised. “Stick with the white bread.”

“Alright!” Harry grinned. “You’re the boss.”

Louis smirked. Harry turned the frying pan down to a low heat and moved to the teapot to pour them each a cup. When he placed the mug in front of Louis, he leaned down, grabbed Louis’ face and planted a huge kiss on his lips.

“Um, I had a lot of fun last night,” Harry said, before letting go of Louis and sheepishly returning to the oven.

“Yeah? Me too.”

-

Louis was in a weird mood. When his boss asked him to spend the morning scrubbing down the back room, he actually didn’t mind. He felt restless and the monotony of the lunchtime rush didn’t appeal to him in the slightest. He filled the mop bucket up with hot water and dropped the mop in, just as Liam walked in.

“Ugh, dude. You really got the short straw.”

“Nah, I don’t mind.” Louis wiped his forehead with the back of his arm. “How’s it going?”

“Fine, yeah. Hey, can I come over tonight? I mean, Zayn kind of invited me, but I didn’t wanna turn up without asking you.”

“Aw, that’s nice! You don’t need to ask me. You’re always welcome.”

“Cheers, Lou.”

“I love that you and Zayn have become friends.” Louis smiled. “He doesn’t tend to let new people in, you know?”

“Yeah. I mean… it’s… yeah.” Liam shrugged and walked out of the room. Louis shook his head to himself and got back to the job at hand.

Maybe it was about time Louis took some days off. He had accrued plenty of annual leave by now and he felt like he was burning out. As he mopped the hell out of the floor, he pondered over plans. He could take a week off, go home and just do nothing. 

He wasn’t good at doing nothing. And anyway, he would worry about leaving Zayn. 

-

Louis felt himself half-expecting Harry to pop in, but he didn’t, not until Thursday. He came in, as usual, with Gemma. 

“Hiya,” he said casually as he walked in, nodding in acknowledgment of Louis. “You alright?”

“Yeah, you?”

“Good, cheers.”

Louis watched Harry walk away with Gemma, and sighed. He was definitely interested in round two. They hadn’t even exchanged numbers, so Louis resolved to get Harry’s today. It didn’t take long for Harry to approach him, the both of them being watched closely by Gemma, who was at their table on the other side of the room. 

“She’s watching me, isn’t she?” Harry asked with a sigh.

“Yup.”

“I promise she’s lovely. She’s just a bit overprotective.” Harry leaned on the bar, grinning. “Anyway, just wanted to come and say hey.”

“Hi. Well, I was gonna grab you at some point. We didn’t exchange numbers.”

“Oh.” Harry pulled his phone from his pocket and unlocked it. “We can, if you want. What’s your number? I’ll drop you a text.”

Louis told Harry his number and watched him tap it in. Whenever Harry was concentrating on basically anything, his eyebrows knitted together and made him look soft and grumpy. Fuck, he was sexy. Louis stared at his long fingers and got a bit lost in thought.

“Cool. Um…” Harry cleared his throat and brought Louis back to earth. “I’ll text you with my number.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“When you least expect it,” Harry said with a cheeky grin.

-

Louis hadn’t spoken to Harry again, and what’s more, Harry hadn’t texted him yet. It was Sunday, and Louis had the day off. It was getting late, and Louis really wished Harry would text him. He was horny as fuck and if he was going to hook up with someone, he would love it to be Harry.

He eventually gave up, and found someone on Grindr. When he was on his way home from the frankly underwhelming encounter, his phone pinged with a Whatsapp message. 

_ ‘Me texting you? More likely than you think!’ _

Louis groaned. He hadn’t known Harry for very long, but something told him this message from an unknown number could not have come from anybody else.

_ ‘Please don’t use memes, Harry. You’re embarrassing yourself. Or if you insist, at least use up to date ones.’ _

Louis couldn’t help but grin as he let himself into his and Zayn’s. When he got inside, Liam was laying across the sofa, watching TV.

“Hiya,” Liam said and quickly sat up. “Sorry.”

“It’s all good, mate. You hanging out with Zayn?”

“Yeah. Um, he’s taking a nap, though.”

“Cool. You guys eaten? I’m kinda hungry.”

Liam smiled, looking a bit sheepish. “There’s some leftover pizza in the kitchen, if you wanted some.”

“Sweet!”

Louis fetched himself a couple of slices and returned to sit next to Liam on the sofa. 

“Lou?”

“Hm?”

Liam cleared his throat and pushed his hands between his legs in a self-comforting gesture. Louis stopped eating and looked at him curiously.

“How would you feel about me staying over?”

“It’s fine.” Louis picked up his pizza to take another bite, but hesitated. “You’ve stayed over before.”

“Yeah, but, um…” Liam shifted in his seat. “Yeah.”

Louis wondered how Liam’s brain worked sometimes. He continued munching on his pizza and, when he was nearly finished, Zayn emerged. He was rubbing his eyes, his hair was sticking up in all directions and he was wearing a t-shirt and boxers. He looked mildly surprised to see Louis.

“Oh, hey.”

“Liam let me eat some pizza, I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course.” Zayn walked over and planted himself in the tiny space between Louis and Liam, wiggling to get them to move up. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing. You know, you’ll mess your sleeping pattern up when you nap so late.”

“Oh…” Liam intervened. “Well, we’ve been hanging out all day, I think I irritated the energy right out of him.”

Zayn laughed softly. “No. But today was a little… overwhelming.”

Louis looked around Zayn at Liam, who was smiling sweetly. Liam seemed to take Zayn’s peaks and troughs on the chin, and Louis was so pleased. Zayn had taken to him like a duck to water. 

“Hey, Lou, guess what?” Liam said. “Zayn’s letting me take him out tomorrow. All day!”

“No way.” Louis couldn’t help but grin. “Where to?”

“Ah, now. That would be telling.”

Louis nudged Zayn. “You’re letting him take you out, all day, and you don’t even know where you’re going?”

“Liam knows what I can handle. I trust him.”

The whole thing was practically unprecedented, but Louis took it. He unlocked his phone and remembered he hadn’t checked to see if Harry had replied.

_ ‘Bold of you to think you can just tell me not to use memes! Meanie.’ _

Louis giggled softly, not loud enough to be heard over the sound of Zayn and Liam chattering. 

_ ‘Stop!!!’ _

The three of them watched a film while Louis texted back and forth with Harry. They had started drinking and, by the time the film ended, they were all pretty tipsy. Zayn and Liam went out onto the balcony for a smoke, while Louis went for a wee. When he returned, he switched off the main light in the living room to turn some lamps on and, when the room fell dark, he could see Liam and Zayn clearly.

He paused. It had been such a long time since he had seen Zayn so animated. He was telling Liam some story and gesticulating wildly, pausing to laugh and graze his fingertips over Liam’s forearm. Louis cocked an eyebrow.

Liam took a step forward and dug his fingers into Zayn’s ribs, tickling him and making him double over before he righted himself and shoved Liam away. They sort of swatted at each other for a moment before getting close again, and Louis’ mouth dropped open as Zayn pressed his thumb against Liam’s mouth, before replacing it with his lips.

He could tell, very clearly, that it was their first kiss. Despite this, everything slotted into place, in his mind. Liam’s coyness about staying over. They way they just… clicked. How Zayn was beginning to come out of his shell.

Louis turned the lamps on and sat on the sofa. He couldn’t decide to pretend like nothing had happened or not. He decided on the former, for now, at least. They could go on their day out tomorrow, still thinking it was a secret. Louis had to bite his lip to stop from smiling when they came back in and sat close together on the sofa.

Not long later, Louis made his excuses and headed off to bed to give them a bit of privacy.

-

_ ‘If you can get here within an hour, there’s half a bottle of champagne with our names on it. Some couple left it behind when they stormed out after an argument! Fancy it? Xx’ _

_ ‘I can get there in just over an hour if you’ll wait x’ _

Louis didn’t mind. He had time to fix his hair and chew some gum before Harry arrived. When he did arrive, his hair was tied up in a bun and he had a laptop bag slung over his shoulder.

“Hi. Sorry.”

Louis was propping up the bar, smirking at Harry, unconcerned.

“No worries.” He reached out and took the laptop bag from him. “Let’s sit down. Jamie, can you bring over that champagne I put in the back?”

Louis’ colleague nodded in acknowledgment and Louis led Harry to a corner table.

“Hope I didn’t pull you away from anything important.”

Harry snorted. “I’m very capable of turning you down if I need to, Louis.” He shrugged. “Or if I want to.”

“Lucky you don’t want to.” Louis smiled at Jamie as he brought over the half-empty bottle of champagne in an ice bucket, along with two glasses. “Thanks, mate.”

“Well, how can I turn you down?” Harry smiled sweetly. “Who says no to free champagne?”

Louis scoffed softly as he poured them each a glass. “Yeah, well. I would have taken it home and drank it with Zayn otherwise, but he’s been pissed a lot recently.”

“How come?”

“He and Liam are dating, although they’re pretending like they’re not. I think Zayn drinks because he’s scared of becoming nervous. I think Liam’s noticed, though.”

“I guess if you work in a bar, it’s your job to notice these things.”

“He’s just so good with him in general. He’s so, so sensitive to Zayn’s needs. I’ve never seen that in anyone, not even his parents are that in tune with him. The last person to be that in tune with Zayn was me.”

Harry smirked. “You feel like Liam’s taking your place?”

“Not at all.” Louis tutted and rolled his eyes fondly at Harry. “No. It’s brill for him. Liam took him out yesterday to Brighton. They were out all day, and Zayn really seemed to have a good time.”

“That’s really great.”

“It is.” Louis pouted before taking a swig of champagne. “I just hope he doesn’t become dependent on Liam, you know, lean on him so much that if it all goes tits up he ends up worse than when he started.”

“But you told me that Zayn applied for a job before Liam even came on the scene, and that it was a surprise. So maybe, rather than Liam bringing Zayn out of his shell, he came out of his shell on his own and had the confidence to find somebody.”

“Maybe.” Louis narrowed his eyes at Harry. “Okay, you’re clever. Don’t rub it in.”

“Well, sometimes you can’t see the wood for the trees. You’re so focused on looking after him that maybe you didn’t notice that he doesn’t need to depend on you quite as much.”

“Time will tell,” Louis said with a sigh. “Anyway. How are you?”

“I’m fine!” Harry laughed. “Plodding along.”

God, he was so attractive. When Harry laughed, his pink lips stretched away to reveal strangely captivating teeth, his front two featuring prominently and, on occasion, biting into his bottom lip. Wisps of hair were coming out from his bun at his temples, and then there were his hands. God, his hands. When Louis looked at them, he couldn’t do anything but think about how they felt on him. How strong yet expertly delicate his touch was. 

Louis needed to stop. He was getting a bloody semi.

“One of my housemates, Niall, has just bought a car, so we’re going on Saturday.”

Shit. Louis had been far too busy ogling Harry to listen, and now he had idea what he had just said.

“Oh… nice.”

“There’s just something about Ikea, isn’t there?” Harry sighed, looking a bit spaced out at the thought. “All that flat pack furniture, the meatballs, those little pencils.”

“I bet you’re gonna steal at least five pencils.”

“I’m not greedy! Just one.”

Louis poured the rest of the champagne into their glasses, giving Harry the majority of it. Harry whined pitifully.

“You’re trying to get me drunk.”

“I’m not.” Louis smiled and took a sip. “Um, so. I had fun last week.”

“Yeah?” Harry openly smirked. “Me too.”

“So, if you wanted to, um… come back to mine after this…”

Harry smiled and sighed. “Well… don’t get me wrong, it would be great. Honestly. But… I just don’t think that would really tally with our whole casual thing? Just in the sense that I get attached quite easily, and… I just, I think we should stay friends, and I’m not saying it should never happen again, but I just don’t think it’s a good idea right now.” Harry took a deep breath. “Do you know what I mean?”

Louis couldn’t pretend that he wasn’t disappointed. He was so looking forward to getting Harry back into bed. But what could he do? Louis wasn’t, would never be, the kind of guy who couldn’t take no for an answer.

“Of course, babe. No worries.”

“I’m sorry,” Harry grinned helplessly and reached out to put his hand on Louis’. “I really do hope we can be friends, though. I love talking to you.”

“Same. Friends it is.”

-

It wasn’t like Louis was put out by being told no, but he was disappointed. He would get over it, but Harry turned up on Thursday with his sister, reminding him exactly what he was missing.

Gemma shot Louis a look when she walked in. Louis scoffed to himself. If only she knew. Not only did Harry know what was best for himself - and had the courage to turn down things he wanted if they were bad for him - but he wasn’t the one getting hurt.

Well, Louis wasn’t hurt, exactly. It wouldn’t be fair to say he was. He just needed to forget about Harry, but he found the idea of sleeping with those city boys again somewhat off putting. He would have to stick with Grindr. 

London was in the middle of a heatwave, and it was too warm in the bar. Louis had a desk fan sitting on the back bar but he was sweating and, to make matters worse, he had to watch as Harry slowly and meticulously pull his hair up into a bun. There was something so erotic about it, and Louis had to look away. 

“Louis?” Liam said as he approached. “Hey, is it okay if I come over tonight?”

“For God’s sake, Liam. How many times? You don’t have to ask.”

Liam grinned sheepishly. “Alright. Thanks.”

Louis had been focusing on how good the budding relationship was for Zayn, but Liam seemed happy, too. Zayn certainly seemed like a better fit for him than Louis was, at any rate. On top of that, Zayn had heard this morning that he had got a part time job. Maybe Louis would be able to go home to visit his family after all.

Harry and Gemma left after their meal without a word to Louis, and he knew he had to let it go.

-

Louis slept with three different men in the space between Thursdays. One thing was for sure: when he saw Harry next, he didn’t feel sexually deprived. They hadn’t really spoken, either. Louis had made a pact with himself not to text Harry unless he texted first, which just didn’t happen. 

“Hiya,” Harry said as he walked in to meet Gemma, who had already found a table. “How are you?”

“Fine, you?”

“I’m good.” Harry flashed him an easy smile, which infuriated Louis, for some reason. “See you in a bit.”

Louis scoffed as Harry walked away. Maybe  _ friends _ didn’t work for him. Something was different with Harry. Maybe it was because they saw each other more than Louis usually saw the other customers he had hooked up with, or maybe it was because they didn’t sleep together as instantly as he had with the others. He didn’t know. All he knew was that he couldn’t bloody concentrate on his job when Harry was there. 

He reckoned, though, that it was probably manageable. Or… it would have been, if it wasn’t for the fact that Harry turned up on Saturday with some of his friends.

“Hello. I’m after some kind of New Zealand Merlot.” 

Louis cocked an eyebrow and slid a wine menu towards Harry. “Take your pick, love.”

“I’m looking for a recommendation!”

Louis sighed and fetched a bottle of wine that he quite liked himself. 

“So,” he said as he worked the corkscrew in. “Anything interesting to tell me?”

“Hmm. My housemate, Niall, set fire to the kitchen.”

“No! Is everyone okay?”

“Oh, yeah. He managed to put it out pretty quickly, but he was a bit shaken up.” Harry leaned on the bar. “What about you?”

“Well, Liam and Zayn are still pretending like they’re just friends. They’re spending a lot of time together, but apart from that, I think they’re taking it pretty slowly. I think that’s what Zayn needs.”

“Aww. Well, I hope it works out between them.”

Louis poured a little wine into a glass and got Harry to try it. Harry took a swig, hummed in appreciation, and nodded.

“That’s lovely.”

“It’s a personal favourite.”

Harry pushed the glass closer to Louis with the index and middle finger of his right hand, and Louis tried not to look. Bloody sexy hands.

“Well, you have great taste.”

“Alright, big head,” Louis joked. “Um, how many glasses?”

“Three, please.”

Harry paid and went over to rejoin his friends. 

-

Harry slowly got drunk, and he and his friends were in the bar until closing time. Louis successfully managed to get everybody to leave, save for Harry, who he didn’t have the heart to throw out. Harry sat on a table, watching Louis clean up.

“I saw my ex yesterday,” Harry blurted out.

Louis frowned. “Oh? Did it end badly?”

“Uh…” Harry shrugged. “Not… badly. I don’t know. I hated it, though. I hid behind a bin.”

Louis stopped sweeping and sighed. “Oh, Harry.”

“He didn’t see me.” Harry rubbed his face. “Can we go for a drink after this?”

“We shouldn’t,” Louis replied immediately, before smiling placatingly. “Tell you what. If you let me just finish off here, I’ll lock the doors and we’ll have a drink together here. It’ll have to be something bottled, though.”

“Fine! Yes. Thanks.”

Fifteen minutes later, they were sat right at the back of the bar, the lights dimmed, sitting next to each other and drinking a bottle of beer each. Louis tried to keep his head, tried to stay a supportive friend, but their thighs were touching and that did all sorts of things to him.

“It wasn’t a bad breakup as such,” Harry said. “It was just pretty messy, and I got quite hurt. That’s why Gemma’s so protective.”

“Bless her.”

“It’s just…” Harry paused to let out a little burp. “Annoying. And embarrassing that she spoke to you.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Harry put his beer down on the table and snatched Louis’ from his hand. He placed it on the table next to his own, before moving in and kissing Louis on the lips. Louis responded immediately, before coming to his senses. He pulled away and sighed.

“Harry, come on.” Louis tried to smile at Harry, who was pouting heavily. “Stick to your guns, for God’s sake.”

“I’m sorry!” Harry whined. “I just wanted… no. No. No excuses. Sorry.”

Louis chuckled quietly and ran the back of his finger over Harry’s cheekbone. “You’re drunk.”

“Yeah,” Harry said sadly. “Maybe I should go.”

Louis sighed, staring at him for a minute before standing up. “Yeah.”

They threw their bottles away and left the bar, Harry standing awkwardly on the pavement as Louis finished locking up. They parted ways with awkward waves, and Louis headed quickly towards the tube.

-

The secret was finally out when Louis very quietly walked in on Liam and Zayn, snogging.

Louis couldn’t help but smirk as he crept into the room and stood in front of them, sitting next to each other on the sofa and kissing slowly, eyes closed. When they finally parted, Zayn groaned softly.

“Oh, Li. Wow.” Zayn opened his eyes, and jumped out of his skin when he saw Louis. “Jesus fucking shit!”

Liam swore too, and Louis couldn’t stop laughing.

“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Louis took a deep breath as he clutched his stomach. “Serves you both right for keeping secrets from me.”

“It wasn’t like that, Lou,” Zayn said. “We just… I dunno. It just happened.”

Louis scoffed. “Yeah, okay. It’s none of my business. Although, I did see you two kissing, like, two weeks ago. So…”

“Alright,” Liam interrupted. “We just wanted to sort of see how it went.”

“Aw, I get it,” Louis relented with a smile. “I’m just teasing.”

Zayn turned to hide his face in Liam’s neck and Louis chuckled as he walked out of the room. He reckoned he should give them a bit of space, so he grabbed a bag of Doritos and locked himself in his room. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, hesitated for a moment, before opening his Whatsapp conversation with Harry.

_ ‘Just walked in on the lovebirds snogging!!! Hahaha.’ _

Louis put a film on and ate the entire big bag of Doritos whilst he watched it. He didn’t receive a reply from Harry, which disappointed him a bit, but he tried not to think about it and went to sleep.

-

Louis wasn’t exactly sure how to react when Harry came in on Thursday. He never did reply to Louis’ message, and Louis wondered if maybe Harry just wasn’t interested in talking anymore. Or maybe he was embarrassed by his drunken antics.

But Harry acted normal when he came in, acknowledging Louis with a smile and a nod. It was annoying and Louis was starting to think that maybe he was too invested. And that… that wasn’t good.

Harry sauntered over eventually to chat to Louis, who was drying some glasses.

“Liam looks like he’s got a bit of a spring in his step.”

“Did you get my message?” Louis replied, knowing full well Harry received and read it. “They finally told me, after I walked in on them.”

“Were they embarrassed?”

“A bit.” 

Harry chuckled, lazily looping a curl around his index finger. “Bless. They sound sweet.”

Louis felt strangely infuriated. Harry looked so effortlessly sexy, although Louis reckoned he knew was he was doing. It was hopeless. Absolutely hopeless.

“Well, I’d better get back to work,” Louis said, waving Harry goodbye and promptly disappearing into the back room.

-

It might have been drastic, but Louis couldn’t let this happen. He requested Thursday as his day off, every week.

Harry didn’t seem interested in anything aside from idle flirting, and that just wasn’t working for Louis. He thought it best to nip it in the bud, to go cold turkey. He even went as far as to delete Harry’s number.

The next few weeks were busy, anyway. Louis was planning a trip home, trying to logistically work with Liam and Zayn’s schedules so that the effect on Zayn was lessened as much as possible. Liam and Zayn had taken over the living room, building some kind of structure from straws. Louis didn’t ask for details. It was their thing.

Louis headed to work one rainy Wednesday afternoon, starting his shift not long before Liam finished his.

“I hope Zayn’s not got the back door open,” Louis said with a frown. “The rain will ruin your little project, for sure.”

“Ah, he won’t let it get wet. Definitely not.”

“You’d better hope so. You going round after work?”

“Yup.” Liam beamed. “Um… I’m gonna ask him to be my boyfriend tonight.”

“Aww, Liam! That’s so sweet! Although, I didn’t realise you weren’t already.”

Liam shrugged. “Well, I told you. We were taking it slow. But I think this can really go somewhere.”

“I’m really pleased for the both of you, mate.” Louis squeezed Liam’s arm. “I wish the best for you.”

“Thanks, Lou.” Liam scratched the back of his neck. “Um, and I hope that the stuff that happened between me and you won’t-”

“Oh my  _ God!” _ Louis groaned exaggeratedly. “For the  _ last time,  _ it’s not an issue.”

“Just making sure.”

Louis hesitated and chewed on his bottom lip. “But, um… does Zayn know?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh. Well, good. What did he say?”

“He understood.” Liam shrugged his shoulders. “I told him I was in a really messed up place to do something so crazy.”

“Oi!”

Liam left about an hour later, leaving Louis with only Jamie for company. Luckily, they were fairly steady, and it was Louis’ break before he knew it. As he ate a sandwich, he waded through Grindr. Might as well get back to normal, he thought, and so he spent his break finding a guy and arranging a hookup for after work. He got back to work, and phoned it in for the rest of his shift.

Just before they called last orders, Jamie started to clear up. Louis began to tidy the till up for an easier cash up, pausing his task when someone approached the bar.

“Hello- oh.”

“Hi,” Harry said with a smirk. 

“Um. We’re about to call last orders.”

“In that case, can I have a vodka tonic please?”

Louis scoffed. “What are you, eighty? Coming right up.”

“I’ve not seen you for ages.”

“Ice and lime?”

“Please.” Harry leaned on the bar. “You’ve not been here for, like, three Thursdays in a row. They kept telling me it was your day off. You never used to take Thursdays off.”

Louis walked to the end of the bar and flicked the lights up, indicating last orders.

“It’s gonna get a bit busy for a few minutes, so…”

“Can we talk in a bit, then?”

“Sure.”

Harry sat at a table on his own, looking rather glum as Louis worked through the last orders. Louis didn’t have time to think, really, and neither did he want to. He finally closed the bar, and kept himself busy while Jamie kicked everybody out. Louis told him to leave Harry where he was.

Jamie went home, leaving Louis to lock up. Here they were, yet again, alone after closing time. Harry wasn’t drunk this time, and had a sort of defeated air about him. Louis felt kind of guilty.

“So,” Harry said as Louis wiped down the last few tables. “I Whatsapped you, and my messages didn’t deliver. Did you block my number?”

“Uh, no. I deleted the app.”

“Look, I’m so sorry about kissing you the other week. I was drunk, and weak, and…”

“Harry.” Louis sighed, abandoning the cloth and cleaning spray on a table before jumping up to sit on the bar. “I’m not mad about that.”

“What, then?” Harry stood up and approached him. “You’ve been avoiding me.”

Louis sighed and buried his face in his hands. “Look, I’m just gonna be honest. For some mad reason, I kept thinking about you, and so I thought it was better that I just… didn’t see you anymore. It was just easier that way.”

“Oh.” 

“Anyway, you were sending mixed signals. You always flirt when you come in, but ignore my messages. You said you wanted to be friends, but I just don’t think that works for us.”

Harry sighed. “Oh, I didn’t ignore you. Well, I didn’t mean to. I just couldn’t decide how to reply in a way that didn’t make me sound like a complete idiot. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry if me disappearing upset you, but I don’t think there’s anything here for us.” Louis shrugged, and rolled his eyes as Harry placed his hands on his thighs. “Harry, stop it. Are you listening to me?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about you a lot, too. Probably why I’ve been acting so weird.” Harry placed his hands on the bar, either side of Louis’ legs. “It’s okay to get feelings for someone, you know.”

“Shut up,” Louis murmured with no malice. “Too bad neither of us want anything serious.”

“It’s not all or nothing, you know. We could always go on a date or two, see how it goes. Take a leaf out of Liam and Zayn’s book and take it slow.”

“It won’t work, you’re not ready.”

“Oh,  _ well.  _ Now you sound like Gemma.”

And, damn. Harry was right. Just like Louis always thought Gemma had no right to speak for Harry and his feelings, neither did Louis. Louis had even less right than Gemma, in fact. Maybe Louis was projecting.

“Okay, sorry.” Louis winced. “So, maybe  _ I’m _ not ready.”

“We’ll just go on a date and see how it goes. There’s nothing to be scared of, Louis,” Harry goaded. “It’s like what you do now, but with the same person, over and over.”

Louis giggled, despite himself, and placed his hands on Harry’s shoulders, pulling him closer. He sighed.

“Fine. You’ve won me round.”

Harry slid his fingers into the hair at the back of Louis’ head and pulled him in for a kiss. Louis was almost embarrassed at how delicious of a relief it was. 

“So…” Louis said as he pulled away, probably a bit sooner than Harry would have liked. “What now?”

“Well, we’ll go out on a date, whenever you’re free, and-”

“I mean tonight.”

“Oh. Um, I don’t know.”

Louis smirked. “Well, why don’t you come back to mine? Just for a bit. You can meet Zayn, have a drink, just hang out.”

-

Louis texted Zayn on their way home to warn him he was bringing someone home. He had spoken to Zayn about Harry a little bit, but Zayn had been rather caught up and besides, Louis hadn’t been overly forthcoming about the whole thing because he was afraid of having feelings.

Stupid, really. Anyway, it may very well have worked out. Finally.

They arrived at Louis’, and Zayn was too busy painting the straw structure to really acknowledge Harry. Liam smiled warmly but was mostly watching Zayn closely.

“What is it?” Harry asked simply, completely ruining Louis’ ongoing game of trying to guess.

“It’s a bridge,” Liam replied.

“A bridge?” Louis asked. “Why?”

“Bridges not walls, Lou,” Zayn said, sounding exasperated. “Come on.”

Louis turned to Harry and shrugged. “Maybe we should, um, leave them to it.”

They headed into Louis’ room. As luck would have it, Louis had a bit of a tidy up before he went to work earlier that day. Harry kicked his trainers off and sat down at the edge of the bed.

“I didn’t get you back here just to get you into bed. I swear,” Louis said with a grin. “I didn’t know they’d be, um, painting a bridge.”

“Well, I’m not going to sleep with you anyway.” Harry smiled and laid back against Louis’ pillow. “If we’re going to date, you have to wait for that, now.”

Louis grinned and opened his mouth to speak, before remembering that he had made plans for tonight.

“Shit!” Louis pulled his phone from his pocket to a handful of messages from the guy. “Oops.”

“What happened?”

“Uh… kind of awkward, but I arranged a hookup tonight.” He quickly typed out an apology to the guy and threw his phone down on the bed. “I completely forgot about him as soon as you walked in.”

Harry looked pleased with that. “Poor lad.”

“Mm.” Louis sat down next to Harry and picked his phone up. “I’m gonna delete Grindr, right now.”

“Oh, you don’t have to, um… yeah. Maybe you should.”

“Haha! Okay… it’s gone.”

“Thanks. I don’t have it.”

Louis raised his eyebrows. “You don’t? How do you meet people?”

“I meet people in real life instead, Louis.”

“Who can be bothered with that?”

-

This time, it was Louis who left Harry asleep in his bed. In fact, he left him alone and went to sleep on the sofa. Harry woke up mid-morning, emerging into the living room and rubbing his eyes.

“I fell asleep, then.”

“Yeah. I didn’t wanna wake you.”

Harry squinted at the clock. “Hm, well. I missed my class.”

“Shit. I’m sorry.”

Harry shrugged, unbothered. “It’s okay. Do you mind if I have a shower?”

“Go for it. The boys went out early, so it’s just us. There’s towels in the dresser just outside the bathroom.”

“Cheers.”

Louis watched Harry walk away before sighing. Maybe he should make Harry some breakfast, the way Harry did for him. It was probably a bad idea. Harry would never come back.

He settled for making a pot of tea, leaving it to brew while Harry showered. When Harry walked in, dressed only in his boxers, Louis nearly choked.

“Um…” he said, coughing. “I’m not so good at cooking, so… we have, like, cereal, and toast, and…”

“Cereal’s fine.” Harry smiled. He didn’t seem fully awake still. He blinked blearily as drops of water dripped onto his collarbone from his wet hair. “Are you working today?”

“Uh, no.” Louis smiled at the floor. “It’s Thursday, so I’m off.”

Harry giggled softly. “Of course. Well, do you have plans? I don’t have anymore classes today and I’m not meeting Gemma until later, so…”

“Nope,” Louis said with a smile. “No plans.”

-

They went out briefly that day, and went on a proper date at the weekend. Harry made Louis wait until after their third date for a repeat sexual encounter. That night, they stayed in Louis’ room until Harry had to run to the toilet for a wee that he just couldn’t hold anymore.

Louis left his room, too. To his absolute horror, Liam was naked in the living room, sitting cross-legged in the corner while Zayn painted a picture of him.

“Oh my God! Is this necessary?”

“Sorry, Lou,” Zayn said distractedly. “We would’ve done it in my room, but the lighting’s all wrong.”

Louis couldn’t even bring himself to be surprised. Liam had become basically a permanent fixture around here, and their antics got weirder and weirder each day. Louis slid out of the room and into the kitchen to get him and Harry some nourishment.

He heard Harry yelp in surprise and knew he had walked into the living room. A second later, he came into the kitchen.

“I didn’t need to see that,” Harry said with a sigh.

“I think Zayn’s actually found his soulmate, you know,” Louis said with a smirk. 

Harry walked up behind Louis and placed his chin on his shoulder.

“Sometimes, it just clicks for people.”

“True.”

“Lou?” Harry grazed his nose against Louis’ earlobe. “I’m enjoying this a lot, you know. Us.”

Louis couldn’t help but smile as he felt his heart flutter. Something about Harry just… got him. Always had, if he was honest with himself.

“Me too.”

“So… how do you feel about being boyfriends, then?” Harry said quickly. “Do you think you’re ready? It’s too soon. Is it?”

“Harry,” Louis said with a giggle. “I think that would be okay. If you’re ready, that is.”

“I’m ready!”

Louis turned around and hugged him. He always knew it would happen to him eventually, and it happened to him when he least expected it. One of his hookups had finally stolen his heart.

“How are you gonna break the news to Gemma?” Louis asked with a grin.  


**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this, please [reblog the Tumblr post!](https://dinosaursmate.tumblr.com/post/177729368151/thursday-by-dinosaursmatecatfishau-words-15066) thanks for reading xx


End file.
